Accepting the Destiny - Part 1

Date: 2011-06-25 Author: Vaijayantimala devi dasi

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis, Please accept my humble pranams! All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev!

The following is a humble attempt to transcribe the enlightening lecture delivered by our beloved God brother HG Devakinandan prabhuji in Chennai on 27th May 2011 on Srimad Bhagavatam verse 7.2.40

pathi cyutaṁ tiṣṭhati diṣṭa-rakṣitaṁ gṛhe sthitaṁ tad-vihataṁ vinaśyati jīvaty anātho ’pi tad-īkṣito vane gṛhe ’bhigupto ’sya hato na jīvati

Sometimes one loses his money on a public street, where everyone can see it, and yet his money is protected by destiny and not seen by others. Thus the man who lost it gets it back. On the other hand, if the Lord does not give protection, even money maintained very securely at home is lost. If the Supreme Lord gives one protection, even though one has no protector and is in the jungle, one remains alive, whereas a person well protected at home by relatives and others sometimes dies, no one being able to protect him.

1. Nothing is in our hands: This is a verse that Maharaj found very humorous and very very enlightening. In Srimad Bhagavatam 7.9.19 Prahlada Maharaj prays

bālasya neha śaraṇaṁ pitarau nṛsiṁha nārtasya cāgadam udanvati majjato nauḥ taptasya tat-pratividhir ya ihāñjaseṣṭas tāvad vibho tanu-bhṛtāṁ tvad-upekṣitānām

My Lord Nrsimhadeva, O Supreme, because of a bodily conception of life, embodied souls neglected and not cared for by You cannot do anything for their betterment. Whatever remedies they accept, although perhaps temporarily beneficial, are certainly impermanent. For example, a father and mother cannot protect their child, a physician and medicine cannot relieve a suffering patient, and a boat on the ocean cannot protect a drowning man.

Here Prahlada Maharaj gives three examples of how powerful the Lord’s protection is and no matter what we do, we cannot do anything in this world until we get the blessings of the good Lord. There is not a blade of grass that can move without His sanction. There is not a crook in this world or a criminal in this world who can plan a crime without His sanction. Very powerful statement.

Prahlada Maharaj says that very often, we love our children like anything. But when the child falls sick, we have all been in situations where we are helpless. We want to make sure the child gets better but no matter what we do, until the time is right, the child does not recover. The second example is the example of the physician. When we are sick, no matter how much money we may have in this world, the money we know cannot cure diseases. You may have the best physicians in the world and even then they will not be able to help us. If Krishna does not want, then there is no physician in this world who can prolong even an inch or a second of a moment longer than what is destined. The third example is very nice. He says what is the use of a boat which is floating on the ocean for a man who is drowning. A man who is drowning cannot swim. So even if he sees a boat in the ocean, it is no point because he cannot swim to the boat and he will drown. So Prahlada Maharaja uses these examples to tell us that, frankly speaking, until and unless Krishna gives mercy, Krishna gives sanction, there is no possibility of us being able to do anything in this world.

The example that is given in the verse SB 7.2.40 is so practical. How many times we have been in this situation. Some of us have actually lost money on the street and you may have come back to the same place and found it. But you have kept your money very safely in the bank and because of inflation or this or that, the money has lost its value. How many of us have kept money so well? My father has this habit. He keeps something so securely that he forgets where it is and half the time goes in trying to find out and if I ask him where he kept it, he will say, I have kept it in such a good place that now I have forgotten. If Krishna wants, no matter how well you keep something, you may end up losing it because he does not give you the memory to remember it. But you may keep something very haphazardly, but if Krishna wants to protect it, then nobody can touch it.

So every time Maharaj read this verse, he would laugh because he said, "By nature, living entities are stingy pokers number one. We love our money so much that it is very very hard to part with it. Very often Krishna finds His own ways to make us part with the money. We try very hard but eventually either the money goes in His service or it goes in the service of maya or if you keep it very well, when you are dead or you are dying, we realize that we cannot take it with us. When we realize that nothing can come with us, then we accept our destiny. It is very important that when you cannot accept that nothing goes with you, then you cannot accept anything in your life. That is why we always must remember the day of our death."

Maharaj kept saying this a million times over that until you remember that you are going to die, you think that everything is within our control, but actually, it is not true. Nothing is in our control. Really really nothing and this is a fact. That is why Alexander the great – he was a great warrior, great conqueror but you all know historically he conquered the whole world but at the end of the day, he died of a simple fever and he died at the height of his empire’s conquest. He was very young when he was dying and he told his ministers that he has three wishes and they must fulfill them when he dies. "The first wish is that you must put me in a coffin and you must open the coffin and make sure my hand is outside. My palms should be facing outside." Then he said, "All my doctors who are working very hard to save me now should carry my coffin when I am gone, and thirdly I want that whatever money I have in coins is strewn on the streets." So the ministers asked him why all this elaborate arrangement and he said that "I have realized one thing now at the point when death is coming. I want people to know that at the point when someone leaves this world, his palms cannot carry anything with him. They will be open but they cannot clutch anything. I cannot take Greece with me. I cannot take Rome with me. I cannot take anything. Even this body I cannot take with me. The second thing, I want everyone to know who are the doctors who treated me, not because I want the people to throw stones at them, but because the fact is, no matter how hard they try, when my time has come, they cannot do anything and the third point that I want everyone to know is, I want all my coins strewn all over the street, so that everybody will know that these coins which make me conquer kingdom upon kingdom, unfortunately, will not save me at the point of my death." So they said this is very nice. But Alexander added one last point. He said that "This is all nice, but you also realize that when coins are thrown on the floor, everybody will pick up the coins and they will hold it very tight in their hands and they will go home thinking, I am able to save this money and that is the truth of this world that we never learn our lessons." We never learn our lessons until and unless we come to Krishna and that is why a million births have gone by and hopefully not a million births will go by so that we learn our lesson that nothing is in our hands and everything is in His hands.

Not knowing that destiny is not in our control we plan so many things whereas Krishna’s plans are the supreme. The next question comes, how to know Krishna's plans and Prabhuji's explanation on the same shall be offered in the next mail, Krishna willing. Thank you very much, Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev, Vaijayantimala devi dasi, Chennai. Accepting The Destiny - Part 2

Date: 2011-06-26 Author: Vaijayantimala devi dasi

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis, Please accept my humble pranams! All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev!

This is in continuation of the previous offering transcribing the lecture delivered by our beloved God brother HG Devakinandan prabhuji in Chennai on 27th May 2011 on Srimad Bhagavatam verse 7.2.40.

In the last offering, we saw that Prabhuji explained that nothing is in our hands and everything is in the Lord’s hands. So destiny is really not under our control. But we plan so many things. So how to know Krishna’s plans? Here we continue the transcription of the same.

2. How to know Krishna’s plans? In Srimad Bhagavatam 7.10.64, Maya Daanava says,

devo ’suro naro ’nyo vā neśvaro ’stīha kaścana ātmano ’nyasya vā diṣṭaṁ daivenāpohituṁ dvayoḥ

Maya Dānava said: What has been destined by the Supreme Lord for oneself, for others, or for both oneself and others cannot be undone anywhere or by anyone, whether one be a demigod, a demon, a human being or anyone else.

If Krishna has fixed our quota, that will be our quota. There will be nothing more and nothing less. Srila Prabhupada in his powerful purport writes: Maya Danava said, "However I plan, you plan or both of us plan, the Lord has planned what is to happen. No one's plan will be successful without His sanction." We may make our own various plans, but unless they are sanctioned by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vishnu, they will never be successful. Hundreds and millions of plans are made by all kinds of living entities, but without the sanction of the Supreme Lord, they are futile.

Now the problem we may ask always is, "Alright, so Krishna’s plan is supreme. How do we know what the plan is? At least if we know His plan, we will go by His plan." Maharaj said that also is a fallacy because the truth is even if we know what Krishna wants for us, still our nature is to argue. Still, our nature is, "Krishna I accept all this, but… I have one thing to ask." This is our problem that we always think we can also argue with Krishna. The arguments that we have are not only confined to the lawyers. But the truth of the matter is, we all are not satisfied with what Krishna gives and because of lack of satisfaction, we do not meet our destiny well and when we go against the tide of what Krishna is giving, naturally we will suffer. Srila Prabhupada gave an amazing point on one occasion. He walked to the top of the cliff with a few of his disciples and he saw the waves. The waves were forcibly coming and they were crushing on the rocks and Prabhupada said, "Do you know that there are fishes in these waves and when the waves crash against the rock, the fishes never die. How is it that the fishes can be crushed against the rock and they do not die? But if elephants are put in the same place, they will be instantaneously crushed by the same waters. But the fishes escape." So he asked why and all the disciples were stunned and finally Prabhupada said, "It is because the fishes have an intimate connection with the sea and the elephant does not have any connection with the sea. Because it has an intimate connection with the sea, the fishes do not go against the flow of the sea and therefore the sea protects, but the elephant not knowing better, they will use their puny strength to go against the force of the waves and in doing so they are crushed."

This is exactly what the verse is about. This is why destiny always frustrates us. When we want something and we do not get it, we become dissatisfied and we blame Krishna. Actually, Krishna is not to be blamed. We are not listening to Him. That is why Maharaj said, "By looking at other people’s palaces, you please do not burn your hut." Beautiful point. Be satisfied by what comes because what comes of its own accord is meant for us. What comes out of over endeavor will stay for a while but after that over endeavor is finished; you will also have to go through the karmic effects. To accept this requires patience and it requires confidence in Krishna. Maharaj says, "If we do not have patience in the devotional process, we cannot be confident and once we become impatient, then we become patients in the hospital." This is the other problem in our life. But those who are patient, they are like the fish; no matter what happens in destiny, they are peaceful. Nothing happens to them. So how to know what is the plan of Krishna and that is the key. Maharaj says, "the best way to know the plan of Krishna, is to accept that you do not know the plan of Krishna. This is the starting point of understanding His plan. Bhishmadeva quotes this very nicely in Srimad Bhagavatam 1.9.16."

na hy asya karhicid rājan pumān veda vidhitsitam yad vijijñāsayā yuktā muhyanti kavayo ’pi hi

O King, no one can know the plan of the Lord [Sri Krishna]. Even though great philosophers inquire exhaustively, they are bewildered.

Yudhisthira was very sad thinking that the whole reason for the Mahabharat war is basically because of his fault and greed. He was such a great devotee that he blamed himself for the massacre of the Kauravas but when he came before Bhishmadeva, Bhishmadeva said that it was the arrangement of the good Lord. In Bhagavad Gita Krishna tells in 11.33

tasmāt tvam uttiṣṭha yaśo labhasva jitvā śatrūn bhuṅkṣva rājyaṁ samṛddham mayaivaite nihatāḥ pūrvam eva nimitta-mātraṁ bhava savya-sācin

Therefore get up. Prepare to fight and win glory. Conquer your enemies and enjoy a flourishing kingdom. They are already put to death by My arrangement, and you, O Savyasaaci, can be but an instrument in the fight.

So Krishna says very clearly that it is His arrangement. He says, "I am killing Arjuna. You are not killing. I have decided, soldier A will die, soldier B will be beheaded, soldier C will be struck. I am killing everybody just by seeing them. It is My plan." Arjuna asked, "So what do I do? What is the point of me shooting the arrows?" Krishna is saying, "You great shooter of arrows! Please note that you are a shooter of arrows, but you are not killing anyone." It is too much! Isn’t it? Maharaj said that this is transcendental sarcasm. Krishna has time for humor even right before the battle starts. So He says, "You are savyasaachin (the expert shooter of arrows). But you are useless. You are savyasaachin, but your arrows will not find the targets unless I destine it." This is how He is teaching us, because Arjuna is actually perfect and He is telling Arjuna that, "Arjuna, you may have great talent. If you think that you are the person who possesses that talent, then you are wrong. The person who possesses the talent is Myself, but I am loaning the talent to you. Once the purpose is finished, the talent is withdrawn." That is why when the whole Mahabharat war finishes we find in the first canto fifteenth chapter of Srimad Bhagavatam, Arjuna speaks beautiful verses. In 1.15.21, he says

tad vai dhanus ta iṣavaḥ sa ratho hayās te so ’haṁ rathī nṛpatayo yata ānamanti sarvaṁ kṣaṇena tad abhūd asad īśa-riktaṁ bhasman hutaṁ kuhaka-rāddham ivoptam ūṣyām

I have the very same Gaandiva bow, the same arrows, the same chariot drawn by the same horses, and I use them as the same Arjuna to whom all the kings offered their due respects. But in the absence of Lord Krishna, all of them, at a moment’s notice, have become null and void. It is exactly like offering clarified butter on ashes, accumulating money with a magic wand or sowing seeds on barren land. Arjuna says that "there is no power and potency to whatever paraphernalia that I have, including myself and this is because Krishna does not want." So here lies the clue to the way to accept the Lord’s plan and how it is to be done is very beautifully described by Devaki prabhuji and the same shall be offered in the next mail, Krishna willing.

Thank you very much, Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev, Vaijayantimala devi dasi, Chennai. Accepting The Destiny - Part 3

Date: 2011-06-27 Author: Vaijayantimala devi dasi

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis, Please accept my humble pranams! All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev!

This is in continuation of the previous offerings transcribing the lecture delivered by our beloved Godbrother HG Devakinandan prabhuji in Chennai on 27th May 2011 on Srimad Bhagavatam verse 7.2.40.

In the last offerings we saw that Prabhuji explained that

Now the next question is how to accept Krishna’s plans and we continue the transcription of the same here.

3. How to accept Krishna’s plans? Maharaj says that if something you want does not happen, very simple, just tell yourself, "It is okay. Krishna does not want. If Krishna does not want, we do not want it also. Your mind will rebel against it. Your mind will say, 'No, no..., I want it for these reasons.' But you just put a stop to the mind and how do you control the mind? There is only one way. The way of remembering Hari and Guru by the weapon of devotional service ( guror harer caranopaasanaastro - SB 5.11.17). Only this way we can control the mind." Then this "muhyanti kavayopi hi " does not touch us. When we accept that "Krishna's plan is so great, I do not know His plan", that is the first step in accepting our destiny. Maharaj said, "Once we accept we do not know His plan, then we are not bewildered. We only become bewildered when we try to know His plan. Once we know it cannot be known, we are not bewildered. we are free. Once we are not bewildered, then we are not distressed. Once we are not distressed, then we are not disturbed. One B (bewilderment) leads to two Ds (distress and disturbance). When there is no bewilderment, there is no distress. When there is no distress, there is no disturbance. This is the science and this has come because we understand and accept that we do not know Krishna's plan. So that is the secret of devotional service to accept that we do not know Him." And those who accept this, then how do we execute His plan?

4. How to execute Krishna’s plan? For this, we just follow Bhagavad Gita 3.31.

ye me matam idaṁ nityam anutiṣṭhanti mānavāḥ śraddhāvanto ’nasūyanto mucyante te ’pi karmabhiḥ

Those persons who execute their duties according to My injunctions and who follow this teaching faithfully, without envy, become free from the bondage of fruitive actions.

This is the royal way to accept our destiny that whatever Krishna gives in Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam, we accept in toto. In toto, in Latin means 'completely'. If you accept one half, not the other, accept one quarter, "This point of Krishna’s deal is nice; that part of the deal I reject", then we become like kichadi. Kichadi means we do not know what is where. Then we become distressed because we are bewildered. Those who accept Krishna’s will, very innocently and very very simply, they will come in line with whatever the Lord wants. Otherwise, duhsthita matih, oscillating mind is there. Srimad Bhagavatam 1.5.14 instructs

tato ’nyathā kiñcana yad vivakṣataḥ pṛthag dṛśas tat-kṛta-rūpa-nāmabhiḥ na karhicit kvāpi ca duḥsthitā matir labheta vātāhata-naur ivāspadam Whatever you desire to describe that is separate in vision from the Lord simply reacts, with different forms, names and results, to agitate the mind as the wind agitates a boat which has no resting place.

This is the seminal verse to understand what our destiny is. This is the advice given by Narada muni to Vyaasa Bhagavan. This is very good advice. You take this back with you today. Maharaj says that you can forget anything but you just remember this verse. Very simple verse. The purport of this verse is that as long as your wishes are not in alignment with His wishes, you will be disturbed. So Maharaj said, very simple litmus test in our devotional service. Every time we are disturbed, it means Krishna wants one thing and we want something other than that. See how practical Srimad Bhagavatam is. Very simple but very difficult to put into practice. But we will never learn to practise until we speak about something. Until you start contemplating on it, you will never practise.

Supposing, I think in the morning, I want to go for a movie. In the morning it will just be a simple, latent desire, but the more your senses contemplate on the object of the senses, i.e. cinema, what happens? Your contemplation increases to the point where the desire generates a will, not only to think about it but to start feeling about it. Now we feel like going to the cinema. In the morning I was thinking of going to the cinema. Then the vocabulary changes. Now I feel like going and the moment you feel very much, then what happens? Before you know, you are buying the ticket and you are in the cinema. This is psychology because thinking leads to feeling. Feeling leads to willing. Do not be discouraged if you are speaking Srimad Bhagavatam verses and you are struggling to understand the plan of Krishna. The more we speak about them; the day will come when we will feel about them. Once we feel, Krishna will give the encouragement to will ourselves. But it must start somewhere. So Bhagavad Gita says that those who follow the rules of Krishna cent per cent, to the extent you follow, to that extent you are with destiny and to the extent you do not follow, to that extent, you are bewildered, distressed and disturbed. Following the rules involves two things and they are a) Shraddha - Faith b) Anasuya – Non-envious a) Following with faith: Shraddha - this faith is so important. Maharaj said how much faith we have in the contractors who build our houses. We have so much faith that we expect and know that they have correctly calculated the load that this house can take. That is why we are sitting comfortably and we know the house will not collapse. If we have so much faith in a contractor, who is most of the time number one cheat, why can't we have faith in the good Lord who most of the time and every time will never cheat us? This is the lack of our faith. Every time you step into a car, Maharaj says, you know how much risk you are running. The two sworn natural enemies are together in your car - Water and petrol. When you put water and petrol together, it is a combustible combination and yet water is in the car, petrol is in the car and you are in the car and every day you are driving the car because you have faith that 'nothing will happen to me'. But when it comes to Krishna, "Prabhu, I am not very sure." muhyanti kavayo 'pi hi - This is what we feel. This is an insult to the good Lord. We should never do this. We have more faith in material objects than the good Lord who created everything. It just does not make sense. That is shraddha.

The other point which is required to execute Krishna’s plan is anasuyanto meaning being non-envious.

Prabhuji's explanation on the same shall be offered in the next mail, Krishna willing.

Thank you very much, Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev, Vaijayantimala devi dasi, Chennai. Accepting The Destiny - Part 4

Date: 2011-06-28 Author: Vaijayantimala devi dasi

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis, Please accept my humble pranams! All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev!

This is in continuation of the previous offerings transcribing the lecture delivered by our beloved God brother HG Devakinandan Prabhuji in Chennai on 27th May 2011 on Srimad Bhagavatam verse 7.2.40.

In the last offerings, we saw that Prabhuji explained that

Having accepted His plans how to execute the plans? Here Prabhuji explained that it has to be done with faith and without envy.

The point on faith was explained in the previous mail. Here we see his explanation on anasuyaa - absence of envy.

4.How to execute Krishna’s plans? We must never be envious of Krishna. I asked Maharaj one time, "Maharaj, frankly speaking, I am very confident I am not envious of Krishna because Krishna is too high for me to be envious of. At least I need to find someone my competitor, then I can understand, I am envious of him. So how can we be envious of Krishna?" Maharaj said something that really floored me. He said that "You are envious of Krishna." I said, "How? I am really not jealous of Krishna. I am happy for Him. I like what He does and everything. So I am not competing. I do not want His Sudarshana chakra or anything. So how am I envious of Krishna?" Maharaj said, "When you are envious of someone, the symptom of envy is you do not follow his instructions. If you are envious of someone, you never hear that person" and then I thought, "yes it is true." Maharaj said, "Because we are envious, we don’t hear that person and that is why we do not get Krishna." Maharaj told me, in the same way, when we are envious of our spiritual master, we do not hear his instructions. So Maharaj said, "Someone may say, 'Maharaj I have no envy for you', but if you do not follow my instructions then I take it that you are actually envious and the symptom of your envy is in the lack of following." Such a powerful point. For the first time in my life, I got the connection between non-enviousness and faith and Maharaj said that is why they are put in one line in BG 3.31- 'shraddhaavanto anasuyanto.' Faith and non- enviousness they come one after the other. The next question is what happens once we follow the instructions?

5. Liberation from one’s destiny: When one follows Krishna’s instructions with faith and without envy, he becomes liberated. Liberated not from the world. Maharaj says, from a deeper point, he becomes liberated from his destiny. He comes under the full shelter of Krishna’s protection. Then his destiny changes. Whatever might be your destiny in your material life, the moment you come to Krishna consciousness, it is Krishna’s realm. He determines your destiny. If destiny is greater than Krishna, then destiny is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So never should we think that Krishna cannot change destiny. He is the big boss. He can change policy just like that. He can say, "Where is the policy? I never knew it." He has done that. He has bent every rule possible, for every devotee possible. He has done that.

When Krishna was trying to save Arjuna, from the arrows of Duryodhana during his battle with king Jayadratha, one arrow came so fast that it was going to hit Arjuna right in between his eyebrows, Mahabharat tells us and at that time, all Krishna did was to step down half a foot and the moment He did that, the entire chariot went half a foot down and the arrow just grazed Arjuna’s mukut and went flying by just like that. When Krishna decided that king Jayadratha had to be killed, he was one and a half-mile away and half the formation had been killed and Krishna told Arjuna, "Very simple. I would make the situation such that the clouds would cover the sun." This is cheating. Isn’t it? The clouds would cover the Sun and all the Kauravas would put all their weapons down and say, "Very good. Now everything is done. Now Jayadratha will live and Arjuna must fulfil his promise because if he does not kill the king, he must leap into the fire and kill himself." So Arjuna looked at Krishna and Krishna said, "Can you do only one favour? When I make the clouds dark, I would suddenly let them go away and the Sun will come. You are one mile away from Jayadratha. Can you aim at him? Can you shoot one arrow that will kill him?" Arjuna said, "With You, I can do anything." With the blessings of Krishna, anything is possible. So at the right opportune moment when Krishna was one mile away and it is 5.30 in the evening and all the Kauravas are thinking, a little bit more and Arjuna is dead. Krishna suddenly makes all the clouds come and the Sun goes. They see that the sun is gone and they say, "We have made it!" Jayadratha who is one mile away gets the message that he is saved. Very happy. He gets off his chariot and Krishna makes all the clouds go and all of a sudden, Kauravas say, "Wait a minute. This is not the time to end", but before their bewilderment can go, Krishna says, "Shoot! Nimitta maatram bhava savyasaachin!" Now this time Arjuna shoots with full confidence with Krishna having determined his destiny and with that faith and because he was one in line with the vision of the Lord, Arjuna finds his target and the force of the arrow is so great that it razes the head of Jayadratha and sends it to the lap of his father miles away.

The incident from Mahabharat how Krishna saved Bhima from Duryodhana was very wonderfully narrated by Devaki Prabhuji and the same shall be offered in the next mail, Krishna willing.

Thank you very much, Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev, Vaijayantimala devi dasi, Chennai.

Accepting the Destiny - Part 5

Date: 2011-06-29 Author: Vaijayantimala devi dasi

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis, Please accept my humble pranams! All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev!

This is in continuation of the previous offerings transcribing the lecture delivered by our beloved God brother HG Devakinandan Prabhuji in Chennai on 27th May 2011 on Srimad Bhagavatam verse 7.2.40.

In the last offerings, we saw that Prabhuji explained that

1. Nothing is in our hands and everything is in the Lord’s hands. So destiny is really not under our control. 2. But we plan so many things. So how to know Krishna’s plans? Prabhuji explained that this begins with accepting that we do not know His plans. 3. The next question is how to accept Krishna’s plans and it begins with the conviction that we do not want what Krishna does not want for us. 4. Having accepted His plans how to execute the plans? Here Prabhuji explained that it has to be done with faith and without envy.

The result of implicitly following the vision of the Lord is liberation from destiny and in the last mail, the pastime of killing Jayadratha was offered. Here we continue with the pastime of Duryodhana and Gandhari.

5. Liberation from destiny: When Jayadratha was killed by the clever plan of Krishna, when that terrible incident happened, Duryodhana was pacing up and down in the night and he was thinking, "What is this? The clouds just came and then went! I am not a weather-man. This Krishna is just too much." Gandhari, his mother was thinking, "I must protect my son. This is cheating. With Krishna on their side, they have it all easy." Gandhari thought, "I have my siddhi." So she said, "My dear Duryodhana, come and see me in the night without any clothes. When you stand before my eyes, I will take off the blindfold and by the force of my siddhi over the years, I will make you so strong that no one can touch you." So in the dead of night, (because one has to be very late to walk around with no clothes) Duryodhana decides to come out and he walks. Everything is quiet and he makes a turn and who does he see? He sees Krishna. Duryodhana is thinking, "Of all the people in the world, why should I see this personality?" Krishna saw him and starts smiling. Duryodhan became ruffled. He said, "why are you smiling?" Krishna said, "why you think I am smiling? Grown- up man with no clothes walking in the dead of the night. Are you mental?" Duryodhana becomes embarrassed and he says, "No no. I am just going to see my mother." Krishna says, "Your mother! You are going to see your mother with no clothes on? Where have you learned your etiquette? Some decency is required. At least wear some gamcha or something and go to see your mother. I know you had a bad day in the battlefield but that does not mean you have to become mental." So what happens now? Duryodhana thinks, "Yes, it is very bad. I am very much embarrassed." He tells himself and checks himself. "I am going to wear my gamcha now. Once Krishna goes, and I stand before my mother, I will take it off. Then everything will be alright." So he goes before his mother. Gandhari says, "Are you ready son? Is everything okay as I told you?" He says "Yes." She opens her eyes and sees him. She goes all the way down and she sees the gamcha. At the end of it, Duryodhana’s thighs could not be strengthened because they were covered. Gandhari tells Duryodhana, "I gave you just a simple instruction to take off your clothes and stand." He said, "I met Krishna." Gandhari thought, "why of all people must my son meet Krishna? In the night, the pandavas were very happy and they must have all gone to sleep. Why is this Krishna roaming around?" She asks, "What did Krishna tell you?" He said, "Krishna told me just wear a gamcha and it is not right to walk around without any clothes. Mother, I agreed to Him and I told myself I will remember at the right point, this instruction that I should remove my clothes."

But Gandhari realized with an air of resignation that no matter what she planned for her son, the truth is Krishna in a very simple and cheeky way was teaching her something that, "Gandhari, whatever plans you have for your son, is not within My line of vision. It is not going to help. You are only going to be disturbed." But till the end of the war, Gandhari could not accept this. Even though Gandhari was a very virtuous lady, but this point is important for us. If you really want to be peaceful in life, we have to understand that we have an intimate firm connection with the Lord. What is the point of reading Bhagavatam and chanting if at the end of it, it cannot translate into peace? Then it means something is wrong. Bhagavatam should not be in the air. It should be on the floor, on the ground. It should make us learn how to live our lives peacefully. It should make us become peaceful. It should make us understand that we have an intimate connection with the Lord and that we are not away from the Lord. But we make ourselves away. We are not away from our spiritual master. The reason we feel we are away, is because we are not prepared to sacrifice. What is that sacrifice?

6. Sacrificing our senses to satisfy the senses of the Lord: The real challenge of our love for Krishna and our guru will be seen and demonstrated by doing all the services that you do not like to do. Maharaj told me, "what is the fun in singing kirtan Devaki? You like kirtan. So you are singing. Where is the sacrifice? You try cooking." Everyone knows I am a bad cook and the sacrifice is too much because everyone will die. But Maharaj said, "That is your excuse. The point is you want to do a service because you would prefer to do it. This ahankaar becomes the greatest impediment in accepting our destiny. So our connection to Krishna is determined by how much we are ready to satisfy the Lord and not satisfy our senses and those who satisfy the Lord, automatically their senses will be satisfied."

Ravana did everything to satisfy the senses. But what did he lack? Whole Lanka was solid 24 ct. gold. Imagine an entire city of gold, especially at the current rate of gold prices. Imagine how much Lanka would be worth? On top of that, he had the most virtuous wife, Mandodari. When you read and see the qualities of Mandodari in Ramayana, you can write pages and pages of her quality. First class lady. But it was not enough for Ravana. He wanted Sita and he wanted Sita without the controller Rama, without the person who owns Sita and to whom Sita was given and to whom Sita has pledged Her life. Maharaj says this is our rascaldom. We want Lakshmi devi. We pray, "Lakshmi devi! Please. Money is not enough. Job is not good. Give me this. Give me that. Lakshmi gives you everything but in giving we forget that the pati of Lakshmi is the one who gives you the sanction to come to Lakshmi. So we ignore Krishna and if we think we can steal away from Him what belongs to Him, then Ravana’s fate awaits us. Ravana was destroyed in the end. Everything he had was destroyed only for one reason that he was coveting something that did not belong to him. So we may ask, how do we know that something does not belong to us? Very simple, Maharaj said. "Just live in this world in such a way that nothing belongs to you because everything is borrowed and everything has to come and everything has to go." Whenever we had difficulty in raising money for the temple, myself and Vaishnava prabhu will be in so much distress. We will think so many material solutions and innovative ways to raise the money. Finally all the innovative ways will not give us the peace. Then Maharaj would sit with us and say, "Devaki, as it is we all have nothing. As it is when we came here, there was no temple. As it is when we came here, there was just land. Now if there is no temple, what have we lost?" When I remember these instructions and I find if I put them into practice in any field of my life, immediately we do not become bewildered. Supposing we gain a lot of money and at the end all the money goes, then this point is very relevant. As it is, when we were born, no one was born with a pocket full of money. Nobody. Nobody had pampers on them. Any child that we know came in with a full set of clothes? Any child was born with a birth certificate saying that I was formerly MBA? Nobody. No child ever came even smiling. It is unusual and Maharaj says we are so foolish that when the child comes out crying and crying, we say Hari bol! The child is saying, "I really hate coming here and my silly father and mother are saying welcome to this terrible world. It is an upside down civilization."

It is important that we learn to satisfy the senses of Hrishikesha and that alone can make us peaceful.

Prabhuji gave the example of Jatayu and Hanumaanji on how they made all efforts to please the senses of the Lord and thus became peaceful and the same shall be offered in the next mail, Krishna willing.

Thank you very much, Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev, Vaijayantimala devi dasi, Chennai. Accepting the Destiny - Part 6

Date: 2011-07-03 Author: Vaijayantimala devi dasi

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis, Please accept my humble pranams! All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev!

This is in continuation of the previous offerings transcribing the lecture delivered by our beloved God brother HG Devakinandan Prabhuji in Chennai on 27th May 2011 on Srimad Bhagavatam verse 7.2.40.

In the last offerings, we saw that Prabhuji explained that

Our connection with Krishna is determined by how much we are prepared to satisfy the senses of the Lord. In this regard, Prabhuji narrated the pastimes of Jatayu and Hanumanji and the same is transcribed herewith. 6.Sacrificing our senses to satisfy the senses of the Lord: Jatayu was at the fag end of his life. He was the old retired king of vultures and had no strength left. But when he saw that Ravana was taking away what belongs to Lord Rama, he did not care about his senses, his body. He just cared about his seva - service. He transcended his pain, suffering, old age and infirmities to challenge Ravana to give back what rightfully is Lord Rama’s. But what was the result of that great act? He was slaughtered. His wings were cut and he fell down bleeding. When Rama and Lakshmana came and saw this bird, they first thought it was Ravana or one of Ravana’s men. Then they recognized him as Jatayu and then Jatayu described to Him that "I tried very hard my dear Rama, but my Lord, I am sorry. I failed in my endeavor. I tried to save Mother Sita but I could not save Her. I feel very bad that I have failed." Lord Rama told him in Ramayana, "You have actually won. You are victorious because it is not the result of the endeavor that I am worried about. It is your beautiful effort. You had all the disqualifications yet with all your disqualifications, you rendered service and you tried your best. This is the qualification of a devotee. That is true nature of devotee that he does not think about his difficulties but he is concerned about what he can do for the pleasure of the Lord and the devotees." For such a person, Krishna's destiny becomes his destiny. To such a person, bewilderment, distress, disturbance may be coming for a while. They may touch him just for a while but like Jatayu he endeavors in the service, uninterrupted, unmotivated (ahaituky apratihataa). In Jatayu's service, there was no motivation. Where was his motivation? Was he going to get a ranking? What was he going to get? Nothing. He was going to die anyway. But he did that to serve the Lord and because he was unmotivated, the result of his service was uninterrupted. Why? Because his destiny finally lay in the hands of Lord Rama. Lord Rama tells Jatayu, "Today I will perform your funeral rites. I will do it as a son does for his father." Where will we get this bhaagya that the Lord does our funeral rites and for a bird, He did that. When He did all the funeral rites, like a loving son, Lord Rama told Lakshmana, "My dear brother, today is the most painful day of My life not because Sita mata has left, but because of the death of Jatayu. A great service has been rendered by My dear most devotee Jatayu. His death has pained Me more than separation of Sita." So Maharaj said that "this is the greatness of the Lord and this is the greatness of His devotees."

Hanumanji is another wonderful example. Because Hanumanji only wanted to satisfy the senses of Lord Rama, his senses were automatically satisfied without any endeavor. You just try to satisfy Krishna by doing all the things that He has said.

1. Follow the four regulative principles. 2. Chant your rounds nicely. 3. Read Bhagavatam daily. 4. Be loving in your dealings with devotees. 5. Tolerate the onslaughts of the material world. 6. Always be humble.

We do all this and automatically our senses will not be agitated. Even if we stretch ourselves in service what is going to happen? Maharaj always says even if you are sick, just come for Mangala arati. What is the worse that will happen? You will die. If you die during Mangala arati, it is mangal - auspicious. As it is you are going to die. Better you die during Mangala arati than during any other time. See the logic. Who can refute this logic? So anytime somebody tells that, "Prabhu, I was very tired. Very sick." Then I remember what Maharaj said, "then come for Mangala arati. Fall more sick because it is better to be sick for Krishna than to be sick for yourself."

Hanumanji was fixed with Lord Rama. Sita Mata and Lakshman were worried that they will not get a chance to serve the Lord as Hanumanji was doing all the services. Sita mata said, "Even when I am asleep, he is somewhere around in the quarters chanting Rama’s names. I have no personal time with my dear husband." So what they did was they drew up a nice service roster. They delegated all the services and made sure everybody’s name was there except Hanumanji. Then they got the service roster approved by Lord Ram.

Then Hanumanji came and he saw the notice-board. There was no service for him. So he went to Lord Rama in His assembly and he spoke with Him. Sita Mata and Lakshmana were a bit anxious hoping they would continue with their services without Hanumanji’s interference. Hanumanji said, "There is no service for me" and Lord Rama said, "That is okay. What is the problem?" Then Hanumanji said, "I cannot live without serving You." So Lord Rama said, "Because you are sincere, somehow the good Lord will give you the intelligence to do some service." Then Hanuman said, "You are my Lord. Who is the good Lord you are talking about?" So Hanumanji sat down next to Lord Rama. Every service was being done very nicely by all others. Towards the end of the assembly, Lord Rama yawned. So when He yawned, He opened His mouth very wide. The moment He opened His mouth, immediately before anyone could jump and before anyone could realize that it is not on the notice board, Hanumanji jumped up and snapped his fingers before Him. Then he became very satisfied. It is customary that if anyone yawns we snap the fingers before that person’s mouth. Lakshmana and Sita Mata were not totally aware of the consequences of this until Lord Rama said, "I am going to my chamber." Hanuman got up. Sita Mata said, "Why are you following Him? I am the wife. I am going inside the chamber. Why are you going in?" Hanumanji said, "Do you know when the Lord will yawn?" Sita Mata said, "How do we know that? It may be any time." Hanuman said, "That is exactly is my point. Mata, because we do not know when He is going to yawn, I have to be 24 hours on standby so that anytime He yawns, I must be ready to snap my fingers. For that, I have to be in close proximity to the Lord. I will just be very close to the Lord and will continue my service." Maharaj said Sita Mata fainted and Lakshmana was really frustrated.

But it shows one thing that if you want to really really become peaceful, in following the destiny, then try to satisfy the senses of Hrishikesa, and by doing so enthusiastically, He will find some way to keep you always engaged. Krishna never lets anyone down. It is only our faith that is required. If you say, "Krishna please give me Your service and I am prepared to sweat", why will He not give and this is the key. From the protection of the Lord comes the direction. Maharaj said this is the point. "When the Lord protects you, He also directs you." When the Lord protected Arjuna, He literally directed him through the armies and when you are directed, you are automatically protected.

Prabhuji went on to explain that until and unless we see the hand of Krishna in everything, we will not accept the destiny of the Lord as ours and the same shall be transcribed and offered in the next mail Krishna willing.

Thank you very much, Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev, Vaijayantimala devi dasi, Chennai. Accepting the Destiny - Part 7

Date: 2011-07-05 Author: Vaijayantimala devi dasi

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis,

Please accept my humble pranams! All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev!

This is the concluding portion of the previous offerings transcribing the lecture delivered by our beloved God brother HG Devakinandan prabhuji in Chennai on 27th May 2011 on Srimad Bhagavatam verse 7.2.40. 7. Seeing the hand of Krishna in everything: The conclusion to the verse SB 7.2.40 is very beautiful that until and unless we see the hand of Krishna in everything, we will not accept the destiny of the Lord as ours. When reverses come and difficulties come, we should not be disturbed. Maharaj said, for a while we may be disturbed but that duration depends on our sadhana and faith. If your faith and sadhana is very nice and sadhu sanga is there, the lead time between the initial point of your being upset and the immediate getting out of the bewilderment will become shorter and shorter and shorter until it takes just little less than two minutes to recover your senses and say, "Krishna, I am trying to see your hand", and you become peaceful. Otherwise, it may take days and months before we see the hand of the Lord and because the Lord works in mysterious ways, we cannot see that hand of the Lord. Maharaj says it might sometimes take even for lives and lives. We cannot see it. But those who accept it, they see it because Krishna gives them the vision from within to understand His purpose. So if you have the acceptance of seeing the hand of Krishna, then we will always have everything easy. There is a nice verse in Caitanya Caritamrta, Adi lila 14.1:

kathañcana smṛte yasmin duṣkaraṁ sukaraṁ bhavet vismṛte viparītaṁ syāt śrī-caitanyaṁ namāmi tam

Things that are very difficult to do become easy to execute if one somehow or other, one simply remembers Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. But if one does not remember Him, even easy things become very difficult. To this Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu I offer my respectful obeisances.

This is the way to accept the hand of Krishna and for those who accept it, then Maharaj said, this intimate connection will result in peace in our lives. This is the way we connect to Krishna. Without connection we cannot be peaceful. Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita 2.66:

nāsti buddhir ayuktasya na cāyuktasya bhāvanā na cābhāvayataḥ śāntir aśāntasya kutaḥ sukham

One who is not connected with the Supreme [in Krishna consciousness] can have neither transcendental intelligence nor a steady mind, without which there is no possibility of peace. And how can there be any happiness without peace? If we are not connected to Krishna by accepting His destiny, then we cannot have transcendental intelligence. Maharaj said, "You can read Bhagavad gita from cover to cover, you can remember and memorize all the slokas, you can be a walking Bhagavatam, but if you are not connected to Krishna, if you do not accept, then the transcendental intelligence is lost and your mind becomes unsteady. You become disturbed. You are reading Bhagavatam, but you are disturbed. It is not the fault of Bhagavatam. We are not accepting Bhagavatam. That is the difference." And then there is no possibility of peace. When there is no peace, how can there be happiness? It ends with a question. This is the conclusion of the wonderful point. Please see the hand of Krishna. Please remember that Krishna is Yogehswara, if He wants, He can just make night into day. So we should obey the orders of our spiritual master because our spiritual master is our life and our soul.

8.Obedience to spiritual master: The instructions of the spiritual master must relieve the distress in our hearts ( tapta jivanam) and it must be cent percent, cent percent. I asked Maharaj, "Maharaj how should I obey you?" and he said, "If you want to breathe, you take permission, then you breathe. To that extent you can obey me. Then you do not worry about where you are going. Wherever you are going, I will find you and I will bring you back to Krishna." That is why, Maharaj in one of his famous statements says, "Obedience is the greatest remembrance of Krishna." Very deep point.

There is one nice story of obedience that Maharaj told me and it is in the Mahabharat. You know that the devatas and asuras were always fighting. Asura’s spiritual master was Sukracharya. Brhaspati was on the other side. For some reason or the other, the demons were quite submissive to Sukracharya and because of their submission, they were actually doing better on the battlefield than the devas. Because Indra, forever in his svargaloka mood, was offending Brhaspati. But the day came when the devas were really in difficulty and they came to find out through the spies that the reason why the asuras would always get up after any kind of wounds or injuries was simply because, they had the power of one mantra and that mantra was Amrta sanjeevani. This mantra was possessed only by Sukracharya. Brhaspati decided that somebody has to go and get it.

So Brhaspati summoned his son Kacha and told him, "Kacha, are you ready to do this?" Kacha is a very obedient person. Kacha replied, "Father, I will obey whatever you say. I will go and I will only take this as my goal. Please pray for me that I will not be deterred in my service." So Kacha went to other camp. He paid his obeisances to Sukracharya and said, "I want to learn all the sciences from you." Sukracharya thought in his heart, "You think you are smart. I know why you have come. For Amrta sanjeevani. But that is the last thing that I will teach you". Then he said, "Alright, out of my magnanimity, though you are from opposite camp, come, my boy, stay in my ashram. I will teach you all the arts that your father does not know." Months and years passed by.

Sukracharya had a daughter called Devayani. She fell in love with Kacha. She decided that she will marry him. The asuras were watching all this and they became a little uneasy. We have an enemy amidst us and we cannot afford him to continue here. They planned to kill him. One day when Kacha was out tending to the cows, they ambushed him; they chopped him into pieces and threw all the pieces in all the directions. Then they went back thinking that everything is done. In the evening Devayani was waiting for Kacha and not finding him she went to her father and said, "Father, I feel that something has happened. Please use your Amrta sanjeevani and bring him back." Sukracharya said, "why? he is just a boy like others." But Devayani now revealed her heart to him and said "I like him, I am going to marry him. So please bring him back to life." So to please his daughter, Sukracharya chanted the mantra and from nowhere Kacha appeared. He said, "My dear sir, how did you bring me back from the eight directions?" Sukracharya said, "You are not going to get the mantra." Asuras were worried. Second time, they ambush him. They get him to a faraway place and kill him. They ground his body in the grinding mortar into a nice paste. Then they threw the paste into the ocean and felt everything was finished.

Again Devayani wanted him back. When her father refused to chant the mantra, she said, "Father, I will die in separation from him." Amrta sanjeevani is chanted and Kacha came back. Kacha said, "Now please, you must tell me how it is done?" Sukracharya said, "No. I am not going to reveal. My loyalty is with the demons." Kacha did not lose heart. He remembered the force and power of obedience - the potency of obedience. Now the asuras are really frustrated. They found a way now to make sure that the mantra is not used. They killed him, they chopped him up, they ground him, made him into a paste and then they took a glass of wine and they poured the powder into the wine. They went and met Sukracharya in the hermitage. Sukracarya had one weakness. He loved wine. They said that we have brought some nice wine for you. So Sukracharya took the same bottle in which the dust of Kacha is there.

So in the evening, Devayani was waiting. She again went back to her father and said, "You have to bring him back father. I am really worried." Sukracharya realized that they had little bit of an issue there. He said, "My dear daughter, Kacha is not in some far off ocean. He is not in the directions. He is in my stomach. But in coming out, he will kill me. So who do you want? You want father or husband? You choose." Devayani said, "that’s a choice I am not going to make. I want both." How to make this?

Kacha from within the stomach spoke. Kacha said, "Sukracharya, I have a suggestion. You have no choice. If you want to live, you have to teach me Amrta sanjeevani because when you first use Amrta sanjeevani, and I come out, you are dead. Before that if you teach me Amrta snjeevani, then when you are dead, I will use Amrta sanjeevani and bring you back to life." Sukracharya thought and thought and said, "This fellow really caught me. I have to teach him Amrta sanjeevani now". Then he chanted the mantra and Kacha came out bursting Sukracharya’s stomach. Sukracharya was dead. Devayani said, "Please wake my father." Kacha is a sweet soul. He did not want to hurt anyone. He just wanted Amrta sanjeevani. He got it and so he chanted the mantra. It was a good practice anyway to see whether it worked. He tried and it worked. Sukracharya got up and he had no choice. Grudgingly he blessed Kacha and said, "I do not know where you learnt this trait, but by the power of your obedience to your father and spiritual master, you have literally extricated this mantra which even the greatest of the devatas could not learn." Maharaj ended by telling, "Be like Kacha. Be patient. Execute your devotional service, but do it on the platform of your obedience to the good Lord, to your elders, to your spiritual master. In this way, there is only one thing that will greet you at the end and that is success."

So if we really want to be successful in devotional service, if we really want to see the hand of Krishna in everything, if we want to accept the destiny of the Lord that He is pulling us through, let us remember these wonderful points form Bhagavatam and let us try to see the hand of Krishna and not blame others, but always look to ourselves and in doing so we become very very sober, never become bewildered, distressed or disturbed.

Our heartfelt thanks to HG Devakinandan prabhuji for these valuable instructions.

Thank you very much, Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev, Vaijayantimala devi dasi, Chennai.